What is the necessity of this rule?

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Guest

I have recently found out, through another board, that many Christian colleges do not allow interracial dating. Is this really true? If it is, can someone please point out the biblical basis for the rule? If it is not a biblically based rule, why is it necessary?

This issue is very disturbing to me. I want to find out as much information as I can on the issue.

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New Member

There is no biblical basis for such a rule, and the only school I know of that has forbidden it in recent times was Bob Jones, but I think they ended that rule 5 or so years ago. I went to a Baptist university in the 80's and 90's and there was no such rule.

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New Member

I don't have a problem with it. I do have a problem with people defining interracial as black and white, These same people don't have a problem with a white person dating an Asian person. It's a terrible double standard.

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New Member

Before you get to critical of Christian Universites, establish that there are more than the odd few that do it. Is it really an issue, or Just something FP picked up as hearsay on another board? I'm actually not aware of any except Bob Jones, and they recinded the rule several years ago.

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Guest

I asked the question because the administrator of Fairhaven was discussing the school's reason for this rule on another board. Apparantly many IFB colleges still have this rule, and it applies to all interracial dating. This is the reason I was asking the question in the first place. I was under the impression that BJU still had this rule, although I am not positive. I wonder how prevelant it actually is, because I find it disturbing.

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New Member

Bob Jones got so much heat when Bush visited there and Mcain made it an issue because of this rule, that they recinded it. Can you name some schools. I attended a Baptist University and there was no such rule. Wake Forrest is a Baptist school and I know they don't have such a rule. But although private schools are allowed to do as they please, there are no Biblical reason for them, at least not any a resonable person would buy. If some schools do have this rule, I bet they are small backwater schools. You wont find any major Christian schools that have this rule. In other words, I doubt if it is very prevelent. And I don't think it should be viewed as prevelent unless someone can show that it is prevelant.

If it is just a few unimportant small unknown schools, I would not be to concerened about it.

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Administrator

Administrator

It was very prevalent in days gone by. And in the last year or so BJU has dropped the rule.

We must remember until the mid sixties, persons under the age of 21 in most States and under Federal law were legal minors. Schools at the time were considered to operate as in loco parentis. In other words, schools operated in the place of the parents and with their authority. Sooo, you see all kinds of rules that look weird to us in 2005. Conservative Christian schools kept these rules on their books long after State and secular schools dropped them.

I can remember in the late 70s needing a dating pass to take a date into town to eat dinner. And we had to follow a prescribed route. At other times, the rules required a chaperon.

Today because of privacy rules, a parent who is paying their son or daughter's full support at a college can not be told that son or daughter's grades. Even if that person is flunking out of school or just scrapping by with C-'s.

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New Member

They (BJU) dropped it back in 2000 after the flap between Bush and McCain in the rebuplican primaries.

Check this out.

"The southern school adopted its ban on interracial dating in the 1950s. Ironically, the policy was not instituted in response to concerns of white parents, but came after an Asian family threatened to sue the school when their son, who was a student at the school, nearly married a white girl. BJU did not admit black students until the 1970s. The school lost its tax-exempt status in 1983 after a 13-year battle with the Internal Revenue Service, which said the school's policies violated federal law."---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Asian's are very strict about this stuff. One of my colleagues was disowened because he married an Asian without a college education and his sister was disowened because she married a Non-Asian. I mean he has not spoken with them for years.

This was their reason, but it just served as an excuse I am sure. I am glad they dropped it, but I am sad to see the Fed putting pressure on them. Why does the "separation of church and state" only work one way? The church has to be invisable in the public square, but the state can but into church business whenever they want.

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Well-Known Member

Originally posted by Squire Robertsson:
Today because of privacy rules, a parent who is paying their son or daughter's full support at a college can not be told that son or daughter's grades. Even if that person is flunking out of school or just scrapping by with C-'s.

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Well, you could always refuse to pay for your child unless your child gave you his/her grades . . .

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New Member

as an IFB I can tell you that Ive seen this attitude still around, unfortunately. It is one thing that disturbs me greatly, although Im seeing us growing out of it.

I know several who "frown on" interracial dating because of the social stigmas they feel the couple will face....and I truly believe that they are sincere in their viewpoint. The people I know who are like this are not racist truly, though they hold a viewpoint which certainly comes across that way, especially today as I don't think the social stigma exists anything like it used to.

That being said, I don't know how many IFB colleges still have this rule, and I think for the most part its one of those old rules still on the books that most people have forgotten about. While I think they ought to be taken OFF the books, it might be wise to find out first whether or not the rule is actually enforced, and what their motivation is behind keeping it there.

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Guest

Thank you Bapmom. I was not for one minute trying to be critical of all Christian universities. I grew up in IFB churches and I vaguely remember hearing about this "rule". I was surprised to find out that Fairhaven Bible College still applies this rule to its students. I understand the reason in days gone by as Squire pointed out, but not today. The reasoning behind the rule is that God is not the author of confusion, ( as told by the administrator).

Another IFB school ended up making a man leave school because when he put black on his application he did not mention he had a white wife.

Now I know this is not the prevalent thinking in all IFB churches, as I attend one, but I find it a little disturbing about the schools. The administrator of Fairhaven admitted that the rule was not biblically based, and being that it is a rule that discriminates and technically "implies" that these types of relationships are wrong I was a little disturbed. Since it is not biblically based and creates a social stigma, why keep it around? I guess I really wanted to know how prevalent it is, because although my children are still young I think about where they will attend school. I could not in good conscience encourage them to attend one of these schools being that they are the result of an interracial marriage.

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New Member

"as an IFB I can tell you that Ive seen this attitude still around, unfortunately. It is one thing that disturbs me greatly, although Im seeing us growing out of it."--------------------------------------------------------------------

The attitude exist amont all races. I am sure FP can attest to getting a few icy stairs from black women on occasion. Alot of them do not like "their" men dating and marrying white women. But the question is are IFB Schools at large institutionalizing this rule and claiming biblical authority for it, or is it just a few oddball schools, and therefore, not a major issue.

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New Member

Originally posted by Bunyon:The Asian's are very strict about this stuff. One of my colleagues was disowened because he married an Asian without a college education and his sister was disowened because she married a Non-Asian. I mean he has not spoken with them for years.

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As a part asian, part european myself, I can tell you with sufficient authority that this is a bit of an overgeneralization. Yes, it does unfortunately happen, but to say it's still strict among Asians in general simply ain't so.

However, there is often drive to keep to the culture, so to speak, in the Asian community. As you said earlier, the probably attitude exists among all races. But it's typically about the upbringing and not about the skin.

And for what it's worth, I married a first generation Indian woman, whose family is Pubjabi. My FIL wanted her to marry an Indian man, but changed his tune after he met me and found out what a nice guy I was

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New Member

Originally posted by Filmproducer: I have recently found out, through another board, that many Christian colleges do not allow interracial dating. Is this really true? If it is, can someone please point out the biblical basis for the rule? If it is not a biblically based rule, why is it necessary?

This issue is very disturbing to me. I want to find out as much information as I can on the issue.

Click to expand...

First of all, you have an unspoken presupposition. You are assuming that every rule must have a Biblical basis. This is not true. Many rules have an administrative or functionary basis. For example, it is perfectly legitimate to prohibit gum chewing in school but there is no Biblical basis necessarily. Christian day schools often have this rule. It is a pragmatic rule to keep gum off the carpet, from underneath the desks and off the sidewalks. Also, there may be parking restrictions, etc. So, all rules are not based on a Scriptural principle or Bible verse. After all, God did give us a mind to think and hopefully some common sense, which I am inclined to doubt at times.

Some people, who are Fundamentalists, believe that God intended for the races to remain separate and not intermarry. It is a fairly long and convoluted view that will not stand elucidation here. Regardless of whether you agree with this interpretation from several OT passages and Acts 17:26, one must grant them their right to believe and practice their beliefs. The worst sin is the coercion of belief and practice and the forcing of political correctness. You must grant folks the freedom of their conscience and faith. Not everyone will agree on Scriptural teachings. My recommendation is that you endow the same freedom of conscience to others that you would desire yourself. Just because one doesn’t agree with others’ interpretations or way of life does not make the other party wrong.

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New Member

"The worst sin is the coercion of belief and practice and the forcing of political correctness"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is true, we should allow private institutions the right to have such a rule if they wish, even if we don't agree. I was very disappointed to read the the government was pressureing BJU. Why does separation of church and state mean churches can't be involved in government, yet government can get involved in the functions of churches and church schools?

But I still disagree with FP's statement the "many" institutions do it. I think it is just the odd few.

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Guest

I did not make the claim that many Christian schools apply this rule. I heard that many IFB colleges still applied this rule, and I was asking if that was really true, meaning I was not sure.

As far as the BJU issue is concerned, if they were willing to use tax breaks from the federal government, then they had to be willing to accept that the federal government would not condone any type of racial discrimination. They lost their tax exemption status for this reason, and the Supreme Court agreed. They can have any rule they want, as long as they do not take advantage of the programs the federal government has to offer.

With that being said, I am not saying that the schools cannot have these rules. I was wondering why they had these rules, since it is technically discrimination and not biblical. IOW, I honestly do not understand how no interracial dating attributes to the efficiency and order of a college. This is the point where my questions were stemming from.

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